Congratulations! Wow, that's very good news, and we are very happy for you

As far as the subjects are concerned, I feel that you should go for a combination of these:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Mathematics
• ICT / Computing
• Philosophy

You can replace Mathematics by Physics based on your interest and other issues.
Knowledge of Computing sciences is becoming important (critical?) day by day in Medicine and that would be a great advantage for you.
As Medicine is a life science, some amount of Philosophy will take you a long way into understanding human nature, behavior and also help you personally to cope with many situations.
With these, you must be on a firm ground.

Anyway, please do keep us posted on your advancements.
Wish you the very best
Shashikiran

Hello David,

This combination is good too. You can, as you have mentioned rightly, take computer related education away from your formal education (This reminds me of Mark Twain's famous "I never let schooling interfere with my education" ).

Role of Computers in Medicine

It's good that you are already adept at comfortably using computers.

In the very near future, most Hospitals will be paperless, where most of the documentation is digitalized (Digital prescriptions have been shown be less error prone than hand-written prescriptions).

In addition, imaging studies, laparoscopic surgeries and other procedures done in hospitals are heavily dependent on technology. These are already widely used and they are going to be more widely available with more advanced technology. Though they are made to be very userfriendly, it is always better to know a bit about their backend (they use sophisticated software) to effectively use them.

Knowledge of little programming can help a medical student have options of going in the direction of medical informatics, biomedical engineering and other fields.

Anyway, since you have already chosen English Literature, I feel you should go ahead with it and learn the others on your own.

Hey again Shashikiran,

Firstly, thanks for the swift reply. Even misplaced swiftness is a virtue.

Secondly, having considered your comments, I think I shall have to look into it further. While I am capable with computers I'm not sure what skills I should develop (and how to do so). Who knows, maybe med schools with be providing IT training by the time I go. Also, if they do not I've heard whispers of the possibility of doing a 'minor' course while at med school.

Finally, thanks for all the advice you have given me. While I probably won't have much news for about a year - seeing as there's the whole studying thing to go through now :0P - I'll keep you updated as best I can. After all, you deserve to know after all the effort you put in.

Regards,

David

Hey all!

I know it's been a long time, but I felt it was necessary to hijack the forums again! (As long as nobody minds ).

For anyone who remembers me or is interested, things are going great in college. The subjects I took are interesting and challenging - the sciences are far more relevant - and fun - than at GCSE (it was amazing to see a cell in anophase under the microscope for the first time!), maths is teaching me to be meticulous and improving my thinking skills, and philosophy is teaching me to be more analytic and express myself clearly. It's very relevant to medicine.

Not only this, but I've taken up 6th AS called 'perspectives on science'. This essentially equips me with the skills I need to be become a scientist... great stuff!

Also, having become more and more passionate (and driven) towards entering medicine I've become far more focused and motivated. I've learned a lot about myself and developed a lot of traits/skills which will serve me well. I've also started being more active in volunteering - I'm partaking in a research project for... erm... sexual health services and am starting up volunteer work with a hospice. (No work at a hospital unfortunately, maybe when I turn 18).

I'm sure there's more, but I don't want to take up too much time... So to the point; I'm currently researching universities (i.e. choosing between them etc.) and considering how supportive everybody was last time, I thought I might ask here. So, is anybody willing to discuss univeristies and the like with me?!

Thank you all for your time,
I look forward to hearing from people again; I hope all is well in your lives,

David